The Secret History of Halloween

Not secret at all, but that's how you write headlines these days.

How modern Halloween began, according to Fast Company:

Indeed. Look at the old ads, and you won't see Trick-or-Treaters rise until the 50s, but they're not getting Halloween-specific candy. Cracker Jack in ordinary boxes. I don't know how they coped.

Meh. "Fear" and "anxiety" seem a bit overstated. But the article notes that "Brachs, for example, was advertising seasonal Halloween candy with jack o'lanterns and trick-or-treaters on the boxes as early as 1962," and that's about right. I found an example in Life:

Here's what gave away before, in the 50s: CEREAL.

CHICAWGO Popped in at Pleasant Family Shopping, a site devoted to old grocery stores, and watched a rather discursive commercial from the 70s. It's notable now because no one seems to have regional accents in commercials very much anymore:

The post went on to note that the chain is being phased our by its parent company. YouTube comment: "Mom & Pop stores are a thing of the past. All we have left are the big box stores. I wonder what went wrong ? Bad capitalism?" Well, we have lower prices, better quality, and wider selection, so there's that. Never underestimate the power of grocery store nostalgia, though; if you tagged along with mom to a particular store when you were a kid, the brands have a powerful pull. The account of Dominick's is here, with some fantastic pictures of old stores. Even the grainy video grabs bring back the 70s in a flash:

NOW THIS IS SCARY England had some wind this week. A landing at the Birmingham airport:

This is why you'd best not look out the window during a windy landing. The runway will line up eventually, but when you're coming down and you see the runway pointing at 2 o'clock, you fear you'll be in the terminal quicker than expected.

FORGOTTEN NO MORE Another favorite blog: "Daily Inspiration," which looks at all the great illustrators of the 20th century. The latest entry concerns Ben Denison. There were so many of these artists, and it's a shame they're constantly eclipsed by modern painters whose fashionable abstraction is far less engaging. For some, anyway.